About

$93,157

pledged of $30,000 goal

1,289

backers

NOTHING PERSONAL has been a labor of love of Tom Vasel and me. Tom always enjoyed games such as Kremlin and I'm the Boss - games that encouraged players to fight for control and constantly be wheeling and dealing with each other. So he was inspired to take these older ideas and bring them into a streamlined, modern game. Tom brought me on board to flesh out the ideas, and together we've worked on the project for over a year to design a good game with a strong theme. We both sincerely believe in importance of theme in games, and we're very pleased with the pervasive mobster theme that shines through in NOTHING PERSONAL. Hundreds of people have play tested NOTHING PERSONAL, and we have carefully sifted through their advice, refining the game as the months have gone by. Having two designers on the project has allowed us to bounce ideas off of each other, and the game is stronger and better because of it. Our focus on high interaction and strong thematic flavor has made for a dynamic and engaging game

--Steve Avery

TOM VASEL

Tom Vasel is host of the eight years and running Dice Tower Podcast, as well as the main force behind Dice Tower Reviews. Having played board games since childhood, Tom has always wanted to share board games with others - whether it be written, audio, or video reviews. Tom is the father of seven daughters, and works as the Dice Tower Network President, GameSaluteNews editor, and youth pastor of South Dade Baptist Church. Tom is also the president of the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund - a charity to help gamers in their times of need. Nothing Personal is Tom's second published game, and the first game from Dice Tower Designs.

STEVE AVERY

Stephen Avery has spent a lifetime playing role-playing games but didn’t enter into the halls of board gaming until 10 years ago with his first game of Tonga Bonga. Since that time, he has become an avid gamer and is active in all aspects of board gaming from organizing gaming events to play testing and game development. He has had the pleasure of working on many game designs with Richard Launius, a friend and inspiration to him as well as game designers Frank Branham and Dan Baden. Steve has done freelance work with Zman games and Eagle Games and greatly enjoys the creative process that development and design offers. His full time jobs as a teacher and artist make it a challenge to devote time to his passion for game design. He is the proud husband of his supportive wife and father of two wonderful girls.

In NOTHING PERSONAL, players use their mob family's influence to control various gangsters in positions of power. Players compete to have the most influence on the different gangsters, and use those gangsters to increase their respect. In each turn of the game, players will play influence cards to fight for control of the gangsters. Gangsters provide respect to the controlling player as well as amounts of money - which can be used to further a family's goals. Gangsters also have a variety of special abilities that can be used, including "whacking" other gangsters and making moves on other gangster positions. Players must be careful, though, as active gangsters can attract the attention of the Feds, and it's easy for a gangster to end up in prison - or dead. After five rounds, the player whose family has gathered the most respect is the winner of the game! NOTHING PERSONAL is a game that allows players to make and break deals with others - a negotiation and backstabbing game. It is most certainly not a cooperative game!

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Here's a peek at some of the reward items found in the various pledge levels in the right column.

If you see something you like, make sure you pledge at a level that includes that item.

Whether you're looking for fan-boy buttons, or a gangster hat to get into the mafia mood, or want a great piece of gaming art, our Emporium has merchandise that that you can add to your pledge.

To add an Emporium item to your pledge, just click the blue [Manage Your Pledge] button in the upper right area of this page. Add the appropriate amount for the merchandise you want to your base pledge amount then scroll to the bottom of the pledge page to confirm your change.

If we are lucky enough to inspire hundreds of backers to support NOTHING PERSONAL, we may be able to surpass our original goal. Here is a list of game upgrades that we will add to all copies of the game if we achieve the noted stretch goals.

The more backers we attract, the better every game will be, so please, share the Kickstarter link for NOTHING PERSONAL with all of your friends on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and any other blog or social network you're on.

There were a lot of choices when Steve and I first put this project together, and several publishers offered to bring the game to the market. However, we chose to use Kickstarter for a few reasons. One, GameSalute has an absolutely incredible team dedicated to high quality and working on the project full time. Secondly, we wanted to have a bit more creative control over the project. Using Kickstarter allows us to reach fans of the game in a unique way, and to bring them in as part of the creative process. Kickstarter has its challenges and risks, but in the end, we wanted folks to feel that we have brought a game to the table that was of extreme quality and was – to put it simply – fun. Kickstarter also allows us to go a step above and beyond – if fans so desire, we can continue to upgrade the components of this game, adding to the theme and fun.

-- Tom Vasel

The Springboard Seal of Quality is your assurance that a new game project is worth your time and attention. All titles approved for Springboard campaigns are vetted by the game professionals at Game Salute. During this comprehensive evaluation process, Game Salute play tests the game to make certain it is solid and fun, and examines all aspects of production plans to verify that you are getting the highest quality for your pledge dollars.

All pledge levels include Free shipping within the USA. Shipping to countries outside the USA requires an additional shipping fee that will be displayed when you select your pledge level.

NOTHING PERSONAL will be available locally all around the world through friendly local game stores that participate in the Game Salute Select Stores system. NOTHING PERSONAL will also be available online through Shop.GameSalute.com for delivery worldwide.

We have special Preview Nights bundles available for local stores. These bundles provide retailer pricing, free shipping with minimum order, complimentary demo copies, and more. Contact James Takenaka at Sales@GameSalute.com or 1-800-459-5516 to pre-order your NOTHING PERSONAL products now.

A Fully-playable NOTHING PERSONAL prototype is available to board and card game reviewers and bloggers.

We are pleased to offer access to our game designers and creative team for podcast, blog, newspaper, or television interviews. Team members can also be present for conventions and event appearances with a timely invitation and appropriate travel and lodging expense allowances.

Please contact David MacKenzie at springboard@gamesalute.com to discuss any of these media support opportunities.

Game Design and Development: Tom Vasel and Steve Avery

Art Director: Dann May

Artists: Lucas Soriano, Dann May, and Martin Rebas

Graphic Design: Dann May, Cody Jones, and Chris Kirkman

Executive Producer: W. David MacKenzie

Design Studio: Dice Tower Designs

Publisher: Game Salute

Special Thanks to: All of Our Dedicated Play Testers

We will update the project FAQ below as you send in your questions.

Risks and challenges

Publishing a board or card game is a cash intensive endeavor. Long before a game project appears on Kickstarter, the designers and developers will have spent hundred of hours on play testing the game and thousands of dollars on art and design to get the project to state where you will take it seriously. In the case of small design studios like Dice Tower Designs and small publishers like Game Salute, this money is all paid up front from a VERY limited budget. NOTHING PERSONAL is a small project as games go, but even so, it can't be made without your help.

NOTHING PERSONAL is still in the art creation phase and we'll be pushing forward aggressively during the Kickstarter campaign. It is our goal to have all of the art completed by the time the Kickstarter wraps up except for the custom backer character art. That will put us in a position to send the files to the printer within 45 days of the Kickstarter's end. That means we hope to have it available for release in time for GenCon 2013. Every game project is subject to potential production delays, but we believe this date is achievable.

The final challenge is getting the game and rewards out to the backers. Game Salute is well versed in Kickstarter reward fulfillment and we are prepared to meet this challenge for NOTHING PERSONAL.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $200 or more
About $200

Soprannome -- One Copy of the Nothing Personal Game, the Game Designers Gangster Deck, Autographed Tom and Steve Gangster Cards, and Your "Italianized" Name on a Gangster Card that appears in every copy of the Game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $400 or more
About $400

Personaggio -- One Copy of the Nothing Personal Game, the Game Designers Gangster Deck, Autographed Tom and Steve Gangster Cards, and Your "Italianized" Name and Caricature on a Gangster Card that appears in every copy of the Game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $400 or more
About $400

Personaggio Expansion-- One Copy of the Nothing Personal Game, the Game Designers Gangster Deck, Autographed Tom and Steve Gangster Cards, and Your "Italianized" Name and Caricature on a Gangster Card that appears in an expansion deck to be delivered approximately one month after the game's release date.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Capo Della Famiglia-- One Copy of the Nothing Personal Game, the Game Designers Gangster Deck, Autographed Tom and Steve Gangster Cards, and Your "Italianized" Name and Caricature on the Starting Capo Card that appears in every copy of the Game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,500 or more
About $2,500

Celebrazione -- One Copy of the Nothing Personal Game, the Game Designers Gangster Deck, Autographed Tom and Steve Gangster Cards. Plus, Tom and Steve will travel to you, (within the contiguous USA) to deliver your copy of Nothing Personal, play Nothing Personal with you and your gaming group and record an interview with you for a Dice Tower episode.